Trombe wall

A wall with high thermal mass used
to store solar energy passively
in a solar home. It is named after the French inventor, Felix Trombe, who
popularized the design in 1964 although Edward Morse had patented it back
in 1881.

A Trombe wall consists of a vertical wall, built of a material such as stone,
concrete, or adobe, that is covered on
the outside with glazing. Sunlight passing through the glazing generates
heat which conducts through the wall. Warm air between the glazing and the
Trombe wall surface can also be channeled by natural convection
into the building interior or to the outside, depending on the building's
heating or cooling needs.

During the day, sunlight shines through the glazing and hits the surface
of the thermal mass, warming it by absorption.
The air between the glazing and the thermal mass warms (via thermal
conduction) and rises, taking heat with it (convection). The warmer
air moves through vents at the top of the wall and into the living area
while cool air from the living area enters at vents near the bottom of the
wall.

At night, a one-way flap on the bottom vent prevents backflow, which could
act to cool the living area, and heat stored in the thermal mass radiates
into the living area. These vents are an addition to the original Trombe
wall design, which relied entirely on conduction through the thermal mass
to transport heat to the living area. In the original design, the majority
of the heat collected radiates back through the glazing at night or on an
overcast day. This problem is best addressed by adding insulation between
the collector space and the thermal mass, and arranging for the thermal
mass to be heated by the air circulating through the collector space via
the one-way flaps. This change avoids the massive loss of heat at night
or on overcast days. Modern passive
solar design emphasizes the separation of collectors and thermal masses.